Juilliard Audition (February 3, 2014)

Monday, February 3rd (a week after my Bristol Old Vic audition and two weeks after Guildhall) began my Grad School Auditioning Week from Hell. The story of how Claire had eight auditions in six days. Surprisingly, I ran into so many people who had applied to even MORE schools than I had, and were even squeezing in random walk-in auditions. God bless (/help) them.

The Hyatt Regency is a HUGE place, and even though this was my second go around at auditioning for schools there, I still managed to get lost most every day. The immense adrenaline pumping through your veins (and, seemingly, pumping through the very concrete foundation of the building) slight impedes directional ability. If anyone is reading this, I ADVISE GETTING THERE EARLY. Just so early. Preposterously early. I guarantee you, you will get a little lost, and, if you somehow don't get lost, you'll still have the pleasure of sitting outside your audition room smugly, imagining how much smarter and together you are than me.

Juilliard's audition on this day was in a particularly maze-like dungeon portion of the hotel. I was met by an incredibly friendly woman and told to wait in the holding cell room. I was surprised by how many high school seniors were there (surprised, and, I admit, slightly annoyed as only a curmudgeonly twenty-three year old can be). I am one of those, you may exchange friendly chit chat with me for a few minutes, but I do not want to spend the next hour of this audition process sharing with you my hopes and dreams (or, in this case, my "dream role") people.

We were given a pep talk by Richard Feldman and Becky Guy. It was very sweet, albeit a little long, all about the Juilliard community and also about how they just want us to relax and have fun today, show them our normal selves, etc. etc. We then did a quick physical warm-up that was incredibly chill (so chill that there was no mistake that this was just for us, not some way for them to secretly assess us without our knowledge). (But also so chill that it wasn't incredibly helpful, but oh well.) Then we returned to the holding cell waiting room. We were split into two groups -- half would audition for Richard Feldman and half for Becky Guy.

I know it probably doesn't matter, and I'm just fruitlessly raging over some made-up injustice, but I really don't like it when they structure auditions like that. I get that it saves time (although most other schools manage to do just fine without it) but I find it a little upsetting that they even FURTHER randomize your chances. There is no way, in a process that is really very subjective, that both of the auditioners are of the same mind. Perhaps one of them would call you back, but the other wouldn't. (When you hear the result of my audition, you're just going to brush this off as me being a sore loser.) But really. Don't make it MORE subjective, please.

Anyway, after going slightly insane cooped up in a room of high school "theatre kids", I auditioned for Becky Guy. She looked at my resume, asked me to say hi to Jeffrey Carlson (one of my acting teachers who went to Juilliard) and had me introduce my two monologues. I did them, and then she gave me a small direction on my Shakespeare and I did it again. And that was all.

After waiting for everyone else to be finished, they posted the callback list. My name was not scribbled there. I felt a sharp pain, gathered my coats and left (to return back to work, oh joy). Honestly, I was still riding high from my Guildhall success, so this result didn't phase me too much, which is lucky.

Overall, they were lovely, friendly people and the whole audition had a very relaxed, welcoming vibe that I appreciated. As far as an audition goes, particularly an audition without a callback, it was surprisingly pleasant and pain free. I knew that the rest of the week could not go that smoothly.